


Built from Scratch

by Politzania



Series: Built From Scratch: Scenes from a Friendship [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: College, Engineering Bros, Gen, MIT Era, Male Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 05:21:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16111697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Politzania/pseuds/Politzania
Summary: Rhodey lends a hand with Tony's capstone project and they both reflect on their friendship.





	Built from Scratch

**Author's Note:**

> Name of Piece: Built from Scratch  
> Square Filled: R2 - Nerds  
> Rating: General  
> Warnings: None  
> Summary: Rhodey lends a hand with Tony's capstone project and they both reflect on their friendship.  
> Created For : @tonystarkbingo

“I don’t think it’s gonna fit, Tones.” 

“Yes, it will, platypus. Just make sure it’s lined up right and use a little more lube. It’ll be fine.” 

“You’re sure it’s not too big?” 

“I know what I’m doing -- c’mon already! I can’t hold this position much longer!” 

Tony braced himself, waiting for Rhodey to start pushing. The slow smooth glide was exactly what he’d been waiting for, and he sighed in relief. “Told you.” 

The pneumatic piston they’d just slid into place was a key piece of his capstone project and Tony was more nervous about it than he was letting on. His advisor had been surprisingly resistant to the idea -- whether it was the fact he was working cross-discipline (something incredibly common in real life, by the way) or that he was actually going to be getting his hands dirty and building something, Tony couldn’t be sure. 

But Tony had learned the art of persuasion from none other than his father, and he had the backing of the department heads (who presumably believed that supporting the heir to Stark Industries was a wise fiscal choice). And so here they were, in a rented storage unit, door wide open on an early Boston spring night with a noisy, smelly generator powering their lights, their tools and the computer. 

Tony and Rhodey made the final connections between the squat cylinder mounted on the wheeled base and the rest of the assembly, turning wrenches and twisting wires. The plan was to fabricate a housing to make things look nice and neat, but for now the cables and tubes running every which way were haphazardly zip-tied into place. The robot was as yet unnamed - Tony was leaning toward Articulated Robotic Mechanical Exhibit, but Rhodey insisted he couldn’t call it Armie. 

Even though that’s basically what his creation was, an arm with a claw and camera. It looked more like something that belonged on a factory floor than in the same room with Robbie, R2-D2 or Johnny Five, but it was what was inside that counted. More precisely, the programming that would be residing on its hard drive. 

Tony had spent most of his spare time the past two semesters developing what he thought of as a learning algorithm. Through trial and error, the robot would figure out how to interact with its environment. The simulations he’d run it through so far had looked promising enough for him to start the next step and build a body. But there was no way Tony could have gotten this far without his best friend’s help; not only the physical assistance, but the moral support as well. 

Rhodey had talked Tony down from the ledge more than once, backing up his reassurances with his own expertise. If Rhodey said something was going to work, Tony could take his word for it. Rhodey had dived deep into his code to help with debugging, puzzled out some of the mechanical elements of the ‘bot, and even chipped in to draft components and circuits when Tony’s brain and hands were too exhausted to continue. Sometimes just talking things out with Rhodey was all he needed to get re-focused and figure out what to do next. Tony wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve such a great guy as a friend, but he would always be thankful that Rhodey was a part of his life. 

\------

Jim Rhodes hadn’t had the slightest idea what he was getting himself into when he’d sat down next to the kid who everyone knew was a child prodigy and probably a spoiled brat to boot. But his mama had raised him not to judge a book by its cover, and, besides, Jim knew what it was like to feel out of place. Before he knew it, Tony Stark had given him a nickname, was calling him his best buddy and trying to buy him a new car. Jim felt awful that Tony thought he had to buy his friendship, and eventually got it through the kid’s thick head that he liked who Tony was inside, not what his name and money could provide. 

Jim tried to be a good influence -- after all, he was the older one and presumably knew better -- but Tony brought out the devil in him and they managed to get into more scrapes together that he ever wanted his mama to know about. That said, Tony also made sure Jim made it through his toughest classes, finding ways to explain difficult concepts in ways that made sense. They made a good team, and while Jim was thrilled to be moving on to the Air Force Academy at the end of the semester, he was going to miss Tony something fierce. Helping him build his robot was the best way Jim could think of to show how much he valued their friendship.

Even if it meant that he was spending the spring break of his senior year right here in this sixteen by sixteen square foot room, squatting on a milk crate with skinned knuckles and grease in his clothes and hair. But seeing Tony’s face light up with a smile -- a real smile, not the one he flashed for the camera that came nowhere near his eyes -- combined with the giddy giggle he made when the custom parts he’d machined himself fit together just right, well, that was worth it. 

Jim watched as Tony connected the final cable that connected the robot to the CPU. Eventually, the circuit boards and hard drive that allowed the ‘bot to be self-sufficient would be shoehorned into the chassis, but that was a ways away. In the meanwhile, Tony's creation was tethered to an external brain but Jim couldn't wait to see all their hard work come to life. 

“Kick the tires and light the fires, Tony. Boot your baby up and show me what it can do!”

**Author's Note:**

> There's an chance this may become a series - "Scenes from a Friendship" kinda thing, if there's any interest.


End file.
